Vasapo (Royal Guard) - Defenders of Eden: Armies of Ashmore (Ideas From Mars) Review

Since Vasapo uses the exact same underlying body as General Cerros, I'm not going to repeat everything I already covered in that review regarding articulation, construction and my overall thoughts on the Defenders of Eden line. If you haven't read that review yet, I'd recommend starting there because most of the strengths and weaknesses carry over here. Instead, I'd rather focus on what makes Vasapo unique, because unfortunately he's also the figure that left me with the most mixed feelings.

General Cerros, Triceratops Leader!

When these figures were first revealed, Vasapo was the one I was most excited about. Seriously, how often do we get a big, hulking Stegosaurus warrior? Pretty much never. Sure, Boss Fight Studio gave us a Stegosaurus in their Saurozoic Warriors line, but those are 1/12 scale figures that look right at home standing beside your TMNT collection. That's fine for what they are, but when I think of dinosaur warriors, I don't picture something that stands eye-to-eye with an average human. I want something that towers over them, and at roughly 8½ inches tall, that's exactly what Vasapo delivers. Even the various Triceratons from NECA and Super7 don't really scratch that itch, although in fairness they're comic and cartoon accurate, so they get a pass.

Video review here:

On paper, this guy should have been my favourite figure in the wave, with one of the nicest colour schemes in the assortment with deep reds contrasted against bright metallic blue armour, he's named after Joe Vasapollo from Four Horsemen Studios, he carries an enormous spear that's taller than himself, and unlike Cerros, he actually gets a unique chest armour sculpt instead of simply borrowing parts from another character. It's the sort of thing I always appreciate because it gives him more of his own identity.

Image: box back with fantasy artwork, character lineup, “Collect Them All!” text, and a detailed character bio set in a parchment-style design.

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Speaking of the spear, I honestly can't decide whether it's brilliant or ridiculous. It's got the expected spear point on one end and a smaller blade on the pommel, but then the main head branches out into this enormous fan of blades that looks like it was designed by someone who wanted to make absolutely sure you never survived being poked with it. At the same time, every time I look at it, I can't stop thinking that it'd make an incredible marshmallow roasting stick. I'm probably not using it as intended.

Image: Toy weapon pieces on a flat surface under blue light.

There are three separate parts laid out on what appears to be a pale wall or board: on the left is a long, thin staff or handle with a slightly thicker top, positioned vertically.
To its upper right is a short, blocky piece with angular shapes, placed horizontally.
Below that, to the lower right of the long staff, is a larger curved blade-like piece, dark in color with several pointed, claw-like extensions and an orange spherical detail near where it would connect to a handle.
The strong blue lighting creates dark shadows and makes other details in the background hard to distinguish.

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The paintwork and sculpting continue to be excellent. The Four Horsemen influence is obvious without simply feeling like a Mythic Legions repaint. Ideas From Mars resisted the temptation to over-weather everything. The metallic blue armour pops beautifully against the red body, the scale textures are crisp, and the overall silhouette is exactly what one would want from a fantasy Stegosaurus warrior.

Image: This is a close-up of a red-skinned monster collectible, filling most of the frame from head to waist. The sculpt emphasizes massive, overdeveloped muscles with deep, sinewy striations across the chest, shoulders, and arms, giving the body a raw, almost stone-like texture.

The head is hunched forward and slightly to the side, with the snout jutting out. The creature’s skin is heavily textured with cracks and ridges, and it has piercing yellow-green eyes that stand out sharply against the red. A short horn rises from the top of the head, adding to its brutish, demonic look.

Around the waist is an ornate gray belt and loincloth. The belt features a blue metallic emblem framed by jagged, wing-like edges, suggesting a fantasy or barbarian theme. The paintwork combines matte red skin with glossy highlights on the emblem, giving some visual contrast.

The figure’s pose is neutral but imposing, torso squared toward the viewer, arms slightly out to the sides, showcasing the upper body bulk and the detailed torso sculpt.

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Then we get to the plates... Oh my **fucking** Jesus. This is where the figure goes from being one of my most anticipated releases to one of the most frustrating figures I've handled in quite some time.

The idea sounds great. Instead of sculpting the Stegosaurus plates directly onto the back, you install them yourself. Unfortunately, the execution just isn't there.

Image: This image shows a set of blue fantasy armor pieces laid out on a flat surface, highlighted by a cool, directional light.

At the center is a complex chest harness. It’s mainly metallic blue with brown straps and several jagged, bone-colored spikes jutting forward and outward, giving it a dangerous, spiked-shell look. Small circular rivet details punctuate the blue plates, adding to the armored feel.

Arranged around it are three matching parts that appear to be limb armor. Two pieces, at lower left and upper right, have a dark, textured surface resembling scaled or rocky padding, edged with gray and shaped to wrap around an arm or leg. The third piece, at upper left, is smoother and more angular, with layered blue ridges and a colorful emblem on the front, suggesting a gauntlet or shoulder guard.

Together, the pieces look like an upgrade set for a fantasy or sci‑fi creature, designed to make the character appear more heavily armed and battle-ready.

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First, I have to ask exactly what these things are supposed to be. Are they his biological plates? Are they decorative armour? Are they removable armour plates that he straps onto his already existing plates? The character bio talks about him using his plates defensively, which would suggest they're part of the animal itself, but then why are they removable? The whole concept starts falling apart the more I think about it.

Then comes actually installing them.

Each plate only fits in one location, so you're sitting there trying different combinations until everything finally lines up. That's mildly annoying, but manageable. The real problem is that the pegs simply aren't long enough. You finally get one seated properly, move to the next one, brush against the first one by accident and... pop... it falls out. Put that one back in, another one falls out. Repeat this process over and over until you begin questioning your life choices.

Image: The red monster is braced in a wide, aggressive stance, as if roaring into a spotlight. Its back is turned slightly toward us, showing off the newly equipped armor: a brutal, spiked carapace strapped across its shoulders and upper back. Metallic blue framing wraps around a brown central plate, from which long, bone-colored spikes and feathers flare outward in every direction, giving it a savage, gladiatorial silhouette.

Blue and gray bracers and greaves cover its forearms and lower legs, textured like layered scales or chainmail. The creature’s huge hands are open and clawed, one arm raised as though reaching for an enemy just out of frame. Harsh white LEDs at its feet cast strong highlights across the red skin and armor, while the backdrop of stone arches and eerie green-and-red skies turns the whole setup into a dramatic arena or cursed battlefield for this heavily armored beast of a figure.

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I spent well over half an hour fighting with six little plastic plates.

As someone who is totally blind, this became even more irritating because every time one launched itself onto the floor, I then had to stop everything and go hunting for it. That isn't the sort of thing that immediately comes to mind when designers are prototyping a figure, but it illustrates why seemingly small engineering decisions can become surprisingly significant.

Personally, I think slightly longer pegs or mushroom-shaped pegs would have solved almost all of this. As it stands, I honestly don't know why these weren't simply permanently attached at the factory. If you're going to make something removable, there should be a good reason for it beyond creating an unnecessary assembly step.

Image: The red creature is caught mid-lunge, as if it has just kicked off a wall of blinding white lights and is vaulting into battle. One massive foot is braced against the illuminated panel, the other leg bent and coiled beneath it, giving a sense of explosive movement.

Its head is thrown back, mouth open in a bestial roar, framed by a blue helmet that wraps around the sides of its face. The new torso armor hugs its chest and shoulders: layered blue and gray plates over a textured, scale-like underlayer, with orange tech-style accents dotting the straps and buckles. From the back of this armor, large cream-colored fins or feathered plates flare out, echoing the spikes from the earlier setup but now shaped more like dragon fins or sails.

Its forearms and shins are still encased in blue-gray armored guards, ending in huge clawed hands and feet that look ready to rake into anything nearby. Behind it, the ruined stone arches and fiery red sky of the backdrop make the whole scene feel like a dramatic leap across a hellish arena, even though it’s all achieved with a cleverly posed figure and diorama.

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The tail creates another little nitpick for me. The sculpt itself looks perfectly fine, but it feels too short. If someone had asked me whether I'd rather have a shorter tail or sacrifice a little bit of that oversized, multi-bladed spear budget to give Vasapo a proper, long Stegosaurus tail complete with an intimidating thagomizer, I'd choose the tail every single time. Nature already designed the perfect Stegosaurus weapon millions of years ago.

Image: This close-up focuses on the bare back and arms of the red monster figure, with its armor removed. The sculpt shows thick, corded muscles layered with heavy folds and wrinkles, giving the skin a tough, almost stone-like texture. Two small circular ports are visible on the upper back, clearly intended as attachment points for the different armor harnesses you showed earlier.

The bright red body is shaded with darker tones in the creases to emphasize depth. Gray-and-blue bracers encircle the wrists and forearms, textured like interlocking scales, each with a small diamond-shaped orange detail on the band. Around the waist is a brown belt with gray trim and small, sculpted tabs that suggest fastening points for a loincloth or additional gear. One hand is curled into a loose grasp, showing thick, clawed fingers ready for posing.

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The articulation is otherwise exactly what I expected after Cerros. The neck remains wonderfully expressive, the figure is extremely stable thanks to those massive feet, and while the elbows and knees still don't offer particularly deep bends, that's simply part of the compromise that comes with figures this bulky. I never bought these expecting Spider-Man poses anyway. They're giant fantasy dinosaur warriors, and they look fantastic standing guard on a shelf.

Image: Two hulking fantasy brutes face off in profile, each braced against opposite walls like gladiators about to clash.

At the top is a bright blue beast in ornate gold armor. It leans forward in a powerful stride, one clawed foot planted and the other lifted, tail arcing behind for balance. Gold-plated bracers, belt, and shin guards gleam against the textured blue hide, and a large spiked brown shield hangs at its side, ready to swing into combat.

Below, the red monster charges toward it, armored in blue-and-silver gear with pale fin-like blades flaring from its back and tail. Its body is low and aggressive, legs bent, one arm cocked, the other reaching ahead with splayed claws, as if lunging straight for the blue rival.

The ruined stone-arch backdrop and fiery red and eerie green skies frame them like an ancient arena, turning the scene into a tense, head‑to‑head showdown between two heavily armored titans—posed collectibles locked in a moment of imminent impact.

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What's frustrating is that underneath my complaints is still a genuinely excellent figure. Every time I touch him, I love the design. Every time I pick him up, I remember the back plates. That's a shame because this is one of those rare situations where I don't think the biggest issue is a budget limitation or manufacturing defect. It feels like a design decision that should have been questioned much earlier in development.

Image: The red armored brute is captured in mid-assault, bracing both clawed feet against a blazing wall of LED lights as it thrusts itself forward, spear raised overhead for a killing blow.

Its body is arched in a powerful curve, tail and fin-like spines flaring out behind for balance. The blue-and-silver armor hugs its chest, shoulders, and forearms, studded with orange discs that catch the light. Both hands grip a long weapon: a wood-textured shaft topped with a jagged silver blade and a wicked, three-pronged, almost trident-like head, accented with blue and an orange band near the grip.

The creature’s mouth is open in a roar under the blue helmet, as if bellowing while driving the spear down toward an unseen enemy below. Behind it, the ruined stone arch and blood-red sky of the diorama heighten the sense that this is a desperate leap into battle—an articulated figure posed as a brutal warrior frozen at the peak of its attack.

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Even with all my complaining, Vasapo is still a fantastic-looking addition to the Defenders of Eden line, and if you're building the Kingdom of Ashmore, you really need its Royal Guard. Just be prepared for an installation process that may test your patience, and if you decide to permanently glue those plates into place after you've confirmed they're in the correct positions, I honestly wouldn't blame you one bit.

Image: The scene shows the red armored beast looming protectively behind a robed warrior, the two of them standing back‑to‑back like an unlikely battle duo.

The red creature, in its blue helmet and finned armor, towers over the other figure, legs planted wide and tail curled around. One massive hand grips a long staff-topped weapon raised high above them, the trident-like head angled forward as if ready to strike at anything that approaches.

In front stands a more human‑sized companion dressed in layered, reddish-brown armor plates over orange sleeves. The figure has a lion-like mask or face with a flowing mane and beard, giving it a wise, shamanic presence. Straps, pouches, and gear hang from the belt, and it holds a staff or spear of its own, decorated with sculpted wrappings and an orange detail near the top.

Together they read as a guardian monster and seasoned warrior-mage, holding the line in a ruined stone arena with a stormy red sky behind them—posed figures arranged to suggest a last stand against unseen foes.

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Despite being my biggest disappointment of Wave One, he's also one of the coolest-looking figures in the assortment, which probably tells you everything you need to know about how strong this line is overall.

**Score: 7.5/10** (Would've been a solid 9 if not for the damn plates...)

Image: A towering gray-furred war beast charges forward beneath the looming presence of the red armored brute behind it, as if unleashed as the first wave of an attack.

The creature in front has a snarling wolf-like helm and a mane of black hair flowing down its back. Its muscular gray body is wrapped in brutal copper armor studded with spikes, bones, and circular metal emblems. One hand hefts a massive double-bladed axe, its silver edges jagged and scarred, orange studs dotting the head. In the other, it brandishes a long sword with a serrated, beastlike guard, ready to hack through anything in its path.

Behind and slightly above, the red monster stands as a heavy support, gripping a staff weapon, its blue and silver armor glowing against the stormy backdrop of ruined stone arches and blood-red sky. Together, they read as a warlord and his savage champion, advancing out of a dark arena toward an unseen enemy—the entire scene created with carefully posed collectible figures.

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You can find Defenders of Eden: Armies of Ashmore figures directly from Ideas From Mars, or from retailers such as BigBadToyStore.

If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out my other action figure reviews, and follow my latest toy photography, reviews and collecting ramblings here on the blog.

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